Two problems related to suspension have been reported for the 2004 Mazda RX8. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2004 Mazda RX-8. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer (modern Mazda Dodge ram, 68 waterbury rd, thomaston, CT, 06787, 860-283-4304) to be serviced per NHTSA campaign numbers: 17v355000 (suspension), 16v793000 (fuel system), and 17v354000 (fuel system). The contact was informed that the recall repairs would take one day to complete; however, it took four days. The contact retrieved the vehicle and, while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to accelerate and the check engine indicator illuminated. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and was informed that they would repair the failure. One week later, the dealer stated that the contact could retrieve the vehicle, but then diagnosed that the compressor failed and it would only last approximately two more years. The dealer stated that the engine needed to be replaced. When the contact retrieved the vehicle again, the vehicle failed to start even with a jump. The vehicle was not repaired and was towed to the contact's residence. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures, performed an investigation, and confirmed that the dealer's information was correct. No additional assistance was offered. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.
Electric-assist power steering, randomly in the parking lot the wheel will turn all by itself, one way turns easier than the other, sometimes you have no power steering and other times your steering wheel turns like butter, I live in the mountains with a very windy and dangerous roads, I've taken it to several mechanics finally one mechanic just unplug the wiring harness so there is no power steering. It is very scary to drive especially with a newborn baby. There are a lot of cars on the road with this issue I know 10 different people that have some sort of power steering issue. This is very dangerous and I'm surprised there is not a recall yet on it. I've had two friends that are close to me that have this issue as well, one friend wrecked his car the other friend sold it I believe to pick-n-pull so it would not hurt anyone, please help and maybe help save a few lives, thank you for your time and I look forward to speaking with you.